GUIDE TO THE DELAWARE RULES OF LEGAL CITATION

[Pages:67]GUIDE TO THE DELAWARE RULES OF LEGAL CITATION in the Superior Court of Delaware Second Edition

This revised guide to the Delaware rules governing legal citation and style is intended to provide uniformity, clarity, and consistency in the Superior Court's decisions, and to make life easier for each arriving generation of law clerks. The Guide is based on the Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia Law Review Ass'n et al. eds. 17th ed. 2000), the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed. 2003), internal Superior Court rules, and established Delaware practice. It also updates the Superior Court Guide to the Delaware Rules of Legal Citation adopted in July 1997. Although it is intended to highlight the Bluebook, and not substitute for it, we hope this guide provides a convenient, Delaware-specific resource for the Superior Court's judicial officers, law clerks, interns, externs, and staff. In some ways, it is misleading to refer to the "rules" governing citations, as their structure constantly fluctuates. Citations evolve through a fluid and dynamic process, constantly reacting to substantive changes in the organization of the state and federal judiciary, as well as the stylistic preferences of its officers and academic commentators. Accordingly, this guide is by definition a continuous work in progress. Suggestions, comments, and criticisms are therefore always valued.

Resident Judge Richard R. Cooch Andrew A. Lundgren, Superior Court Law Clerk Robert J. Deary, Superior Court Law Clerk

Adopted by the Superior Court of Delaware September 2004

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE: CASES

I. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL RULE 107(c)(4)

A. Civil Case

1

B. Criminal Cases

2

II. CITATIONS TO REPORTED DELAWARE CASES

A. Supreme Court

2

B. Superior Court

2

C. Court of Chancery

2

D. Court of Common Pleas

2

E. Family Court

2

F. Court on the Judiciary

2

G. Court of Oyer and Terminer

2

H. Orphans Court

2

I. Court of General Sessions

2

III. CITATIONS TO UNREPORTED DELAWARE CASES & AGENCY DECISIONS

A. Supreme Court

3

1. Opinions

2. Orders

3. Administrative Directives

B. Superior Court

3

1. Generally

2. Decisions of Judges

3. Decisions of Commissioners

4

C. Court of Chancery

1. Generally

2. Decisions of the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellors

3. Decisions of Masters

D. Court of Common Pleas

5

E. Family Court

5

F. Justice of the Peace Court

5

G. Decisions of Administrative Agencies and Citations to the Record

5

H. Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee

6

I. Advisory Opinions of the Attorney General

6

J. Pinpoint Citations to Unreported Decisions

6

K. Footnotes

6

IV. CITATION TO CASES FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS

A. Reported Cases Generally

6

B. Federal Cases

7

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V. CASE ABBREVIATIONS

A. Abbreviations Generally

7

B. Consolidations and Multiple Parties

7

C. Governmental Units and Business Names

8

D. Procedural Phrases

8

E. Months

8

F. Judges and Officials

8

G. Explanatory Phrases

9

H. Court Documents

9

VI. SHORT CITATIONS

A. "Id."

10

B. "Supra," "Infra," and "Hereinafter"

VII. INTRODUCTORY SIGNALS

A. Types of Signals

11

1. No Signal

2. See and But see

3. See also

4. E.g.

5. Cf. and But cf.

6. Contra

7. Accord

B. Non-Textual Illustrations of Signals

12

C. Textual Illustration of Signals

13

VIII. PARENTHETICALS AND COMMENTARIES

A. Form of Parenthetical Information

14

B. Citations Within Citations

14

C. Parenthetical Quotes

14

D. Order of Parenthetical Information

14

E. Separate Opinions in One Citation

14

PART TWO: CONSTITUTIONS, STATUTES, AND RULES

IX. CONSTITUTIONS AND STATUTES

A. Constitutions

15

1. United States Constitution

2. Delaware Constitution

B. Delaware Code

1. Generally

2. Multiple Sections

3. Agency Regulations

4. Legislative History

C. Federal Statutes

16

D. Short Form for Statutes and Regulations

16

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X. RULES OF COURT

A. Delaware Rules

17

B. Federal Rules

17

C. In-Text and Footnote Citations

17

PART THREE: OTHER MATERIALS AND STYLE

XI. SECONDARY SOURCES

A. Books

18

B. Frequently Cited Works

18

1. Generally

2. Delaware Works

C. Periodicals and Newspapers

19

D. Internet

19

XII. STYLE

A. Typeface

20

1. Italics

2. Smallcaps

B. Quotations and Textual Alterations

1. Block Quotations

2. Brackets

3. Emphasis or Omission

4. Ellipses

C. Capitalization

21

1. People

2. Authorities

D. Punctuation

22

1. Apostrophe

2. Comma

3. Hyphen

4. Virgule (Slash)

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PART ONE:

CASES

I. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL RULE 107(c)(4)

A. Civil Cases

Superior Court Civil Rule 107(c)(4) provides that:

The following shall be the form of citations:

a. Reported Opinions. The style of citation shall be as set forth in THE BLUEBOOK: A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION, with no reference to State Reporter Systems or other parallel citations. For example:

Melson v. Allman, 244 A.2d 85 (Del. 1968). Prince v. Bensinger, 244 A.2d 89 (Del. Ch. 1968). State v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co., 244 A.2d 80 (Del. Super. Ct. 1968).

b. Unreported Opinions. The style of citation shall be any of the three alternatives set forth below:

LEXIS Citation Form: Fox v. Fox, 1998 Del. LEXIS 179 (Del. Supr.). OR

WESTLAW Citation Form: Fox v. Fox, 1998 WL 280361 (Del. Supr.). OR

Delaware Citation Form: Fox v. Fox, Del. Supr., No. 510, 1997, Berger, J. (May 14, 1998).

c. Other Authority. The style of citation to any other type of authority, including but not limited to statutes, book, and articles, shall be as set forth in THE BLUEBOOK: A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION.

Although the Bluebook directs otherwise, italicize case captions per established usage. In addition, per established usage, the parenthetical information in Lexis citations is optional, unless necessary to identify the deciding court.

Fox v. Fox, 1998 Del. LEXIS 179. Fox v. Fox, 1997 Del. Super. LEXIS 837. BUT: Fox v. Fox, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123 (D. Del.). BUT: Fox v. Fox, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 942 (3rd Cir.).

NOTE: The eighteenth edition of the Bluebook is scheduled to be released in 2005. Changes to citation style for electronic opinions will likely result.

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